A long legal battle over property rights and a public nuisance takes a step forward on Friday, Sept. 6 at the Kern County Superior Court, Ridgecrest branch.

According to court records, the William Dale Howard case — prosecuted by the Kern County District Attorney's office — has been scheduled for a readiness hearing at 11 a.m. on Sept. 6.

Howard, a long-time resident of Ridgecrest, faces 12 misdemeanor counts of allegedly failing to abate a public nuisance under Section 372 of the California Penal Code.

Howard faces an additional charge for allegedly violating Ridgecrest's municipal code by keeping peacocks on one of his properties on the 1100 block of Mayo Street, located in the city's single-family residential area.

Readiness trials, like the one scheduled for Sept. 6, are typically part of the final stages prior to an actual trial. If a deal or some kind of arrangement is not reached at the hearing, a date and the type of trial (jury or trial by judge) will be determined.

The date marks the first time the case will be held in Ridgecrest in 8 months. In January, Howard's attorney successfully argued that the court case should be moved to Mojave, as well as disqualifying a judge from overseeing the case.

The last court date in Mojave was Tuesday, Aug. 27.

An August 2012 Ridgecrest Police Department report obtained from the court system paints a picture of Howard's properties as a potential health and safety hazard, with piles of scrap metal, dilapidated buildings and several sea vans (or sea cargo containers) surrounding some of the properties he's connected to.

The Howard case is in its second incarnation. An earlier case against Howard, filed in January 2011, was dropped without prejudice by the Kern County DA's office in mid- 2012 after determining the evidence was too old and citing more pressing cases to pursue.

The current case was filed on Nov. 29, 2012.

In a separate case Ridgecrest, itself, is pursuing civil litigation against Howard regarding all properties associated with him.

A request for a motion by the legal firm representing the city to appoint a receiver for Howard's properties has been continued from an Aug. 26 hearing to Sept. 25 at 8:30 a.m. in the Kern County Superior Court, Metro Division in Bakersfield.